Wednesday Morning

Howdy, I hope you are having a good Wednesday, or a good whatever when you are reading this.

Moving Offices
Aaron and I are moving our offices today. Last week Student Ministry and Children's Ministry sat down and decided to end our 2yr. Gang War. The papers have been signed a cease fire has been called. Since then we have realized just how cool Clayton and Paula are, so we are moving into their offices. Maybe I'll take some pictures and put em up once we are moved in, but we are siked because today is moving day! It will be great to spend more time working together to make a difference in children's lives for the Kingdom.

New Switchfoot Album
Hello Hurricane dropped yesterday, and it hasn't been off my ITUNES since. You definitely have to check out the title track and Sing It Out. The passion of Sing it Out is just great. I love the lyrics.

OSU vs. IOWA
This Saturday @ 3:30 the outright Big 10 Championship is on the line. I am worried about it though, because everything points to a Buckeye Win which means a lot of bad things could happen. The Buckeyes could have a letdown from last weeks great performance. They could be looking past Iowa to THE GAME against Michigan next week. Hopefully I am just a worryer, and the Buckeyes won't forget what is on the line, or that its the Seniors last game in the shoe.

HS Playoffs
Anderson and Turpin both won their 1st round playoff games, but this week both of them have a major task ahead of them Trotwood Madison and Middletown both have a lot of speed. It will be interesting, and I hope they both have great games.

Proverbs 3
I read Proverbs 3 this morning. Here is something I found both challenging and encouraging:

¹⁹ By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations,
by understanding he set the heavens in place;

²⁰ by his knowledge the deeps were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.

²¹ My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment,
do not let them out of your sight;

²² they will be life for you,
an ornament to grace your neck.

²³ Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your foot will not stumble;

²⁴ when you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

No Shave November
Alright its been a week since the shave here is the update.

Yesterday Frank John (10th Grade) came into my office. Last week I had a full beard when he say me and yesterday he just stared at me and said, "What did you do! You had something so magnificent and wonderful and you just decided to shave it off?" - I don't think he is too big of a fan of No Shave November so far.

13 Cavities
Thank goodness my mom doesn't read my blog because if she did she would be mortified right now. I just have to share something catastrophic from my life. I went to the dentist yesterday. They said I had a few cavities. 13 to be exact. I felt like I should be getting fitted for dentures right then and there. The first 18 years of my life= No Cavities. 18-22 yrs old=3 cavities. 22-24= 13 cavities. Is there a Biggest Loser for people with Obscene dental issues? They asked about my dental hygiene habits (I do everything but floss), and after that they tried to make me feel better by telling me sometimes our bodies just change. I am terrified! My teeth could have at least done me the favor of telling me they were going to heck in a handbasket.

Why Small Groups Can Be So Tough
One of the HS Guys I am mentoring started helping with one of our Middle School Small Groups this past week. He did a great job and it was neat watching him connect with the students. We were talking afterwards about how interesting small groups are, especially with Middle School Students. They say some really interesting things (ie- Zach saying, "I brag to my pillow every night, 'I have arms and legs and you are just a pillow for my head to rest on.' ") Still they also have great insights and depth to them.

We were talking about different aspects of our group and one thing we focused in on was positive and negative reinforcement. Its easy to just give attention to the students who act out in negative ways. Its easy to say be quiet etc. Its harder to reward students for great answers or great questions or just for sharing. During this school year though we have already recognized the growth in some of our students from that positive reinforcement. If you make a habit of rewarding students for contributing and participating they will start doing it more and identifying themselves in new ways. Its not the easiest thing to do but it makes a huge difference.

Wednesday Morning

SWITCHFOOT ALBUM
My favorite band growing up and still today is Switchfoot. For a lot of reasons that I won't bore you with, I just absolutely love these guys. They have been churning out song after song the past few years since getting free from Columbia Records too. They have a new album coming out Nov10th called Hello Hurricane. They started streaming the entire album for free yesterday on myspace. To listen to it click here.

My favorite tracks so far are the title track (Hello Hurricane), Yet, and Bullet Soul. Its a great album. Here is the video from the first single Mess of Me.




HS Retreat
We just reserved the weekend of March 12-14, 2010 for our High School Retreat at Woodland Lakes Christian Camp. We are hoping to find a couple of other churches that want to team up and go together.

Now comes all the fun, exciting, and hard work to make it a solid weekend for our students. Time to start really focusing on the questions like: What is going to be the focus of the weekend? How do we want to challenge our students? How can we give them tools to use and takeaway? God how can we prepare for what you have for us that weekend?


1 Peter 4 and 5
^4:7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. ⁸Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Growing up my mom always prayed that I would be self controlled because I was a pretty hyper kid. When I read this yesterday it jumped out to me. I need to be self controlled so that I can focus and pray. Verse 8 is just awesome because it makes you think about how Jesus' amazing love covers us. Redemption is a beautiful thing. ^5:2Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; ³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock This is a challenge to us as leaders, and a call to be challenged to Christians who need to step up and lead. We need to be eager to serve, to shepherd, and to be examples to others. That's discipleship, and true discipleship lasts.
^5:5Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."^a]">[a] ⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
This passage is especially poignant coming on the heels of verses 2 and 3. There are so many levels to true humility and God has a way of teaching them to us. We need His grace and that should humble us. If we are humble it says that He gives us Grace. I am so glad that he cares for me.

NO SHAVE NOVEMBER
Yesterday Clayton (the children's minister) asked me if I was going to do No Shave November. I told him I was up for it, but I really knew that Alicia would be the one to decide that for me. Luckily she told me I could if I shaved at the beginning. So I shaved late last night and I wont shave again until December 5th (30 days). Here is the picture from day 1. Today I look like a 5th grader. Hopefully by the end of the month I'll look like I am at least 17.


LOGOS BIBLE SOFTWARE
Logos has some incredible Bible Software. It can be pretty pricey, but its definitely quality. Especially if you want to dig deeper into what theologians etc have to say about passages without having to do tons of research. The reason I mentioned it is that they just came out with an IPHONE application that is FREE and it is pretty quality too.

Alright that's it. Go Phillies let's make it to a game 7!